By Jim Tortolano/Garden Grove Journal
A deal to cope with the impact of the temporary move of Bell Intermediate School staff and students to the former Chapman Intermediate School in West Garden Grove has been hammered out between the City of Garden Grove and the Garden Grove Unified School District.
Students from Bell, located on Springdale Street north of Lampson Avenue, will shift to Chapman starting in the fall of this year. They’re relocating because of modernization work being done at Bell, paid for by the voter-approved Measure A bond issue of 2010,
Chapman, which was originally a junior high, has been used for adult education in recent years. Adult ed programs – already trimmed because of budget cuts – will be shifted to the Lincoln Adult Education Center on Garden Grove Boulevard.
The area most affected by the move will be the Chapman Sports Complex, located at the northeast corner of Chapman Avenue and Knott Street. It currently is home to tennis courts, two roller hockey rinks, a baseball field and several soccer pitches.
In its “new” life, Chapman/Bell will need to use some of the area for physical education classes.
“The plan is to fence off some of the fields for school use, and leave some for the public. We don’t think this will interfere with AYSO [American Youth Soccer Organization] play or Friday Night Lights [flag football],” according to Kimberly Huy, community services director for the City of Garden Grove.
Part of the site is owned by the city, and part by the school district. It’s under a joint use agreement between the two entities.
Some of the school site won’t be available for community recreation. The soccer fields on the north side of the site will be gobbled up for the staging of equipment. Portable classrooms will take up other room in the complex.
Despite the changes brought by the temporary use of Chapman as a “home away from home” for Bell Intermediate, Huy expects little friction.
“I think it’s all going to work out fine,” she said.
Will the roller hockey rinks be available for public use??